Fiat Metro bus: children’s book hero?! True!

A 1980s orange Fiat Metro bus has been turned into the unlikely hero of a children’s story by Melbourne author Michael Feeney. Mike and his wife Ros bought an apartment in the Umbrian hilltop town of Spoleto in 2006. Their first grandchild was born the same year; four more followed.

A little orange Metro bus with the route letter D bus was an essential means of travelling up, down and around the ancient town;Ros and Mike nicknamed it Danny the D. From that name Mike formed the idea of writing a story for his grandchildren about the adventures of Danny. The Associazione Amici di Spoleto and the Fondazione Antonini, a family foundation that supports local writers, both thought it was good idea too. The resultant small book was published in Spoleto in 2012 in both English (Danny the D Bus) and Italian (Dani l’autobus D).

The book is being used in Australia as a dual-language reader for students learning Italian.

Mike is currently looking for an Australian publisher to produce a local Australian version with illustrations replacing the photos used in the original. In the meantime the original booklet (with optional CD and town map) is available through selected Melbourne bookstores and online: